Cops PO'd Over "Sopranos" Angle

"They are making a bigger deal in the media about the POS murderer than the officer that was taken from us. Such bull may god bless him and his family." So read one of the posts this morning on a chat-room frequented by NYPD MOS, or "members of service," as the lingo on the site goes. POS apparently stands for "piece of shit," although "particularly obnoxious scumbag" or "perpetrator of slaying" would also fit, because it refers to Lillo Brancato, the minor actor who was arrested this weekend after an alleged robbery was foiled by an off-duty cop, who ended up shot and killed. The media's play of the Hollywood angle seems to be grating on some of New York's finest. "I am sure it is only a matter of time before Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Paul Newman and Ed Asner show up in front of the courthouse to 'show support' for this POS," reads another posting. Yet another, referring in part to the Daily News that today put the slain officer on its front page, reads, "We get no respect even in death from these liberal rags."

"I love gangster movies and the Sopranos, I will not be watching this season because the support criminal scumbags and glorify their lifestyle," says another. Indeed, it is odd how many ties Sopranos cast members have to real life bad behavior. Vincent Pastore, who played Pussy Bonpensiero, got nailed for smacking his girl. Robert Iler, a.k.a Anthony Jr., was pinched for robbery in 2001. Paulie Walnuts's real-life counterpart Tony Sirico knocked over nightclubs when he was younger. And now one of the guys dumb enough to try to grease Christopher (KRIS-ta-fuh) Moltisanti is accused of being dumb enough to be involved in a cop killing.